Lesson Title: Musical Murmurings

Grade: 3rd grade

Rationale: This lesson plan was inspired by the book, Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, by Lloyd Moss.
This book brings together the subject areas of music, math, and language arts in a rhythmic
masterpiece. This book is an excellent example for students of poetic writing that makes use of
rhyme, rhythm, and figurative language. In addition, it goes through the instruments that
comprise a ten piece, chamber group orchestra. In the process, it not only engages students in
counting, but it exposes them to the aesthetic qualities of music. For these reasons it was
selected for the read-aloud that will be part of this lesson. In the beginning of the lesson, students
will listen to and watch a music video created by the violinist Lindsey Stirling. This is meant to
engage the students and set the tone for the rest of the lesson; helping them to reflect on the
elements of music and how these have the power to move the listener. The lesson then moves
on to the read-aloud, which will demonstrate how poetry can use words to create a similar effect
upon its listeners. These first two aspects of the lesson are designed to meet the needs of both
visual and auditory learners, while the next part is incorporated to address the needs of the tactile
learners. In this next part, students will be given the opportunity to experiment with a variety of
actual musical instruments and the sounds that they make. The final element of this lesson then
is the assessment portion. Students will be asked to draw from all of these resources in order to
write their own individual poems, which they will then communicate visually and audibly,
through the creation of a brief video.
Goals or Objectives: Students will be able to compose an original poem about a musical
instrument of their choice. Through this poem students will demonstrate their ability to use the
poetic element of rhyming within their writing. They will then design and create a brief video,
no more than 3 minutes long, in which they will show a visual image, or images, of their
instrument of choice, while orally reciting their poem. This oral recitation will demonstrate their
ability to read fluently. They will have the option of adding musical sounds of this instrument to
their video, but this will not be required or measured in the assessment.
Grade Level Guide: Content Standards
Content Curriculum Focal
Common Core State Standards
Points
(i.e.: NCTM, IRA)
IRA Standard 2: Curriculum
English Language Arts
and Instruction Candidates use Standards: Speaking & Listening:
instructional approaches,
Grade 3: Presentation of
materials, and an integrated,
Knowledge & Ideas:
comprehensive, balanced
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.5
curriculum to support student Create engaging audio recordings
learning in reading and
of stories or poems that
writing.
demonstrate fluid reading at an
2.3 Candidates use a wide
understandable pace; add visual
range of texts (e.g., narrative, displays when appropriate to
expository, and poetry) from
emphasize or enhance certain
traditional print, digital, and
facts or details.
online resources.

Interdisciplinary
Connections
Music: NAFME
U:Cr2.1.PKa - With
substantial guidance,
explore favorite musical
ideas (such as movements,
vocalizations, or
instrumental
accompaniments).

Academic Language: poem, rhyme, instruments, tone, notes, valves, reed, solo, duo, trio,
quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet, nonet, chamber group, orchestra, mellow, slender, soaring,
steely, gleeful, bleating, sobbing, pleading, descend, implore, encore, recite
Students Needs: Students will need to have background knowledge relating to the language
devices used in poetry, specifically the use of rhyme. They will also have to have a basic
understanding of how to use a computer to find images and record sound; assistance and
instructions will be given for incorporating these into a video using the Animoto software.
While it is not necessary, it will be helpful if students have had prior experiences with musical
instruments.
English Language Learners
Special Needs
Some of the academic language incorporated in Students with a speech impediment may have
this lesson, specifically in the book Zin! Zin!
difficulty reciting their poem with fluency.
Zin! a Violin, may be difficult for ELL
They may choose to enter their written poem
students. These students will be given a
into a computer program which will produce an
translation of the book in their primary
audio recording of the entered text.
language.
These students may also need assistance in
coming up with words that rhyme. For this
reason, they will be provided with a word bank
that consists of rhyming words which they
could possibly use.
Materials:
Student Needs- paper, pencil, access to computers with internet and Animoto software
Teacher Needs- book, Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, by Lloyd Moss, read-aloud video link, a computer
and projector, instruments to bring in (violin, flute, trombone, clarinet, recorder, and drums),
YouTube clip of Lindsey Stirling, word bank with rhyming words, sample poem, example of
completed technology project, and definitions for the academic vocabulary
Language Function: Students will be analyzing the book that is read-aloud in order to notice
how the author makes use of rhyming words to create his poem and add rhythm and melody to
the book. The students will be asked to describe how the music in the video of Lindsey Stirling
makes them feel, and how the author in the book is able to make them feel these emotions
through his use of words. The students will then use what they have experienced and what they
have noticed to create their own poems. Their evaluation will be in regard to the objective, which
is that they are able to present this poem with audible fluency, and with an image that adds
emphasis to their presentation.
Lesson Plan
Before: As students enter the classroom they will see instruments set out on a table. They will
proceed to their desks to watch a YouTube video of Lindsey Stirling playing the violin. They will

then discuss the way that the music makes them feel and how it can create a mood through the
tones and the rhythm, as well as the volume. The will also be asked to share about any prior
experiences they have had playing an instrument, or listening to/watching others play
instruments.
During: The class will then move to the story rug to participate in a Read Aloud of Zin! Zin! Zin!
a Violin, by Lloyd Moss. Before the read-aloud begins, the students will use the cover and title
to predict what the book will be about and what style the author might have used to write the
book. At the completion of the read-aloud, the students will be lead in a discussion of whether or
not, and/or how, the author uses rhyme in his poem to create effects similar to those experienced
by the students during the music video. Following the discussion the students will be given time
(approximately 10-15 minutes) to explore with the different musical instruments and the sounds
that they make. The instruments provided will include a flute, a recorder, drums, a violin, a
trombone, a clarinet, and any other available and appropriate instrument. After this time is
complete, the students will return to their desks. As a class, they will create one rhyming poem
about an instrument the follows the given template. The format of the template is as follows: the
poem will be titled and will consist of at least three stanzas of four verses each. The first and
second lines of each stanza will rhyme, as well as the third and fourth lines of each stanza. The
students may extend the poem beyond this, but the video created with the poem must not exceed
three minutes. The students will also be able to see a sample poem which has been created by
the instructor. Next, the students will individually create a poem about an instrument of their
choice, which follows this same format. Lastly, they will go to a computer, where they will
record themselves reciting their poems. They will select an image, or images, of their instrument
from online, which they will then combine with their recording through the provided Animoto
software.
After: Students will then have the opportunity to share their completed videos with the class,
though this will not be required. They will be asked to reflect on how image and recording
together can help communicate their poems, and whether or not they think this enhances their
presentations. They will compare their own work to the video they watched at the beginning of
the lesson, and the book which was read-aloud during the lesson.
Assessment:
Type of Assessment

Formal

Description of
Assessment

Modifications to the
assessment so that all
students can
demonstrate learning
The assessment will
Students with a
use a rubric to score
speech impediment
the final video
may have difficulty
product. Points will be reciting their poem
given for evidence in
with fluency. They
the audio recording of may choose to enter
fluency in reading.
their written poem
Points will also be
into a computer

Evaluation Criteria

The assessment will

show whether the
students are able to
demonstrate their
speaking skills
through the creation
of an engaging video,
which includes both

given for the

appropriateness and
effectiveness of the
visual(s) that the
students choose to use
in the video. Lastly,
points will be given
for the content of the
poem, which must
follow the given
template: at least 3
stanzas of 4 verses
each, with lines 1 and
2 rhyming, and lines 3
and 4 rhyming. The
poem must also have
a title and be about a
musical instrument.

program which will

produce an audio
recording of the text
they entered. This
audio recording can
then be inserted into
the final video.

visual and auditory

elements.

Resources:
Moss, L. Illustrated by Priceman, M. (1995). Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Hyperlink to YouTube video of Read-Aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agCSNEqO434

Hyperlink to Technology Project

https://animoto.com/play/12hTyiVPAvFqctQuppHyiQ

International Reading Association Standards for Reading

http://www.htsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/International-Reading-Association-Standardsfor-Reading-IRA.pdf
Common Core Standards
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/SL/3/
National Association for Music Education
http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/core-music-standards/
Animoto
https://animoto.com/dashboard
YouTube Video of Lindsey Stirling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQiNVk_u0po

Template for Poem

Title
Stanza 1
Line 1__________________________________________________________________
Line 2__________________________________________________________________
Line 3__________________________________________________________________
Line 4__________________________________________________________________

Stanza 2
Line 1__________________________________________________________________
Line 2__________________________________________________________________
Line 3__________________________________________________________________
Line 4__________________________________________________________________

Stanza 3
Line 1__________________________________________________________________
Line 2__________________________________________________________________
Line 3__________________________________________________________________
Line 4__________________________________________________________________.
* Lines of the same color should rhyme.

Sample Poem

Stories Upon the Wind

Delicately carved box of wood,
Upheld by graceful arm it could
Sing a song so sweet and light,
Or tell a tale with power and might
Emotions held captive by what you sing,
Move like puppets tied to your strings,
But it is not your strings that go to and fro,
No, it is that rhythmical, magical bow
Let me draw close and then whisper in my ear,
For it is more than simple notes that I hear,
One who holds you under their chin,
Can weave stories of beauty upon the wind
Stories told by you, O Violin!